1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endless rotary band cleaning device usuable more particularly, but not exclusively, for continuously cleaning a conveyor belt serving for handling objects or products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in this type of application, there has already been proposed, particularly in Patent No. DE-2 950 346, an installation for cleaning conveyor belts including a rotary cleaning band mounted on two rollers of different diameters, the upper part of the cleaning and being held applied against the conveyor belt, whereas its lower part plunges, at the level of the largest diameter roller, in a tank fed with a cleaning liquid. This cleaning tank is extended by a draining tank which extends below the smallest diameter roller with which a squeezer roller is associated.
Thus, the cleaning band, driven by the largest diameter roller, passes successively through the cleaning band, then rises as far as the smallest diameter roller where it is squeezed, then comes back to the largest diameter roller while being applied against the conveyor belt, in a direction opposite the direction of movement thereof.
The cleaning liquid extracted from the cleaning band by the squeezer roller falls into the draining tank and is then discharged. In use this type of installation has proved to have a number of drawbacks.
In particular, the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank, in which the soiled part of the belt plunges, will be continuously soiled and will therefore have to be renewed permanently. This consumption will be further increased by the amount of liquid extracted by the squeezer roller and which flows into the draining tank.
To these drawbacks is added the one resulting from the fact that in numerous applications the action of a single squeezer roller is insufficient for extracting all the impurities taken from the conveyor belt by the cleaning band. In this case, the cleaning band will bring back to the conveyor belt the fractions of these impurities which have not been extracted and the installation will become rapidly inefficient.
Of course, this type of problem also arises in the case where an installation of this kind is used for the cleaning of objects which are caused to travel past on the cleaning band at a speed different from that of said band.
The purpose of the invention is then to overcome these drawbacks.